Dictating machine



Aug. 23, 1966 R. K. WALKER DICTATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSept. 23, 1965 FIG.

INVENTOR AGENT Aug. 23, 1966 R. K. WALKER DICTATING MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1965 FIG. 4

INVENTOR RICHARD K. WALKER AGENT Aug. 23, 1966 R. K. WALKER DICTATINGMACHINE Aug. 23, 1966 R. K. WALKER DICTATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 23,1965 AGENT v 09 31 W m ud A wow 1 mm mom k n MW NQQN My MK a wow m l mwu: w W A M v A 07 W w m 2: m M

AL m 3m: F%h: +62 mm e\ F O h Unite States This application is acontinuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 253,133, filed January22, 1963, and entitled Dictating Machine now Patent No. 3,222,074, datedDecember 7, 1965.

This invention relates to phonographic machines adapted for bothrecording and reproducing dictation. More particularly, the inventionrelates to improved drive and control mechanisms by which a dictator canlisten back to selected portions of his recorded dictation and canresume his further recordlation of dictation in the fastest possible waywith the use of improved drive mechanisms which can be operatedselectively in forward direction at normal speed or in forward orreverse directions at above-normal speed.

The invention is herein illustrated in connection with a dictatingmachine using a record medium in the form of a wide flexible belt. Inthe normal forward drive of the machine the belt record is revolved at anormal speed and the carriage for the record-reproduce head is advancedat a proportionate speed to cause the head to define a helical track onthe belt record. This operation of the drive system is herein referredto as a normal forward in-track drive. If the drive system is reversedboth as to the belt record and the head carriage the head traverses thetrack in a reverse direction by what is herein referred to as abackspace movement. If the speed of each of these types of in-trackdrive movements is increased there is obtained a fast forward in-trackdrive and fast backspace respectively. In addition to the foregoing, thehead carriage may be driven while the belt record is at standstill ineither reverse or forward directions typically at an accelerated speedto move the head cross-track in what is referred to as back scan andforward scan.

In carrying out an operation of listening back to a selected portion ofones prior recording and returning the head to its prior position offarthest advance to resume the recording operation, each of thedifferent types of drive movements above-mentioned are employed. It isimportant to bring the head precisely to its prior point of farthestadvance after a backspacing operation so as neither to cause any overlapof recording or on the other hand any appreciable gap which would resultin waste of record space.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved drive and controlmechanisms for dictating machines by which after listening back to aportion of ones recording the head can be restored quickly andaccurately to its prior position of farthest advance.

It is another object to provide improved drive systems for dictatingmachines which can be operated selectively to perform the aforestateddifferent drive movements.

It is another object to provide improved drive mechanisms of thecharacter mentioned which can be reversed rapidly and which are free ofcyclic wow and flutter.

Another object is to provide respective drive mechanisms of thecharacter mentioned which are adapted for operation by A.C. motors andby low inertia D.C. motors.

It is another object to provide improved drive mechanisms of thecharacter mentioned which use self-eneraterrt Qt Patented August 23,1966 gizing band clutches to reduce cost, actuation effort and size.

It is another object to provide an advance marker mechanism for markingthe point of farthest advance of the head carriage during eachbackspacing operation, which is subjected to a selective drag only whenthe machine is in playback and returning to its prior point of advance.The purpose of this selective drag on the advance clutch mechanism is tocompensate for backlash and for spring-back of the resilient stopelement of the advance clutch mechanism so that when the head carriageis returned and the machine restored to recording condition theresumption of recording will be at least to or slightly beyond the lastprior point of farthest advance.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of the invention reference is had 'to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view to enlarged scale of a drive andadvance-marker mechanism for a dictating machine in accordance with thepresent invention, showing the drive mechanism of a character adaptedfor operation by a low inertia D.C. motor;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the drive mechanism ofFIGURE 1 which produces the aforesaid in-track movements, showing bydifferent arrows the respective drive paths of the mechanism forobtaining the different movements;

FIGURE 3 is a left hand elevational view of the drive mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view as seen from the broken line 44 of FIGURE 1to show the pressure means for alternately engaging the drive clutchesC2 and C4;

FIGURE 5 is a chart with reference to the drive mechanism showing therespective conditions of the drive clutches, the backspace solenoid andthe drive and scan motors for the different in-track and scan movementsof the drive system of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6a is a top plan view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing a drive andadvance marker mechanism in accordance with the second embodiment of myinvention wherein the drive mechanism is adapted for operation by anA.C. motor and an advance marker mechanism is provided with a selectivedrag operable during return of the head carriage from a backspacedposition to its prior position of farthest advance;

FIGURE 6b is a fractional sectional view taken on the line 6b6b ofFIGURE 6a;

FIGURE 7 is a schematic circuit diagram of the abovestated secondembodiment of the present machine;

FIGURE 8 is a chart corresponding to FIGURE 5 but for the drivemechanism of my second embodiment; and

FIGURE 9 is a fractional view taken from the line 9-9 of FIGURE 6ashowing the dual switch arrangement of the advance marker.

The three different in-track movements are produced by a drive motor DM,and the scan or cross-track movements are producted by a scan motor SM.Normal forward in-t-rack drive is produced by the motor DM through astep-down belt transmission to a pulley 11 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 3.From the pulley 11 the transmission continues through the clutches C1and C2, shaft 17 and mandrel 24 to drive the belt record R, and itcontinues from the shaft 17 through a gear train 28-30, differentialgear mechanism 33, and shaft 31 to drive a feed screw 27 for the headcarriage. This coupling path is partially indicated by the circuitousarrow N shown in FIGURE 2. Both fast backward in-track and fast forwardin-track movements are produced by the drive motor DM running in areverse direction. The coupling to the mandrel 24 for fast backwarddrive is via an intermediate pulley 13 of the aforementioned belttransmission, a shaft 46, collar 48, clutch C3, gear 49, double rgear50-51, gear train 51-53, clutch C4, collar 55 and shaft 17. Thiscoupling path is partially indicated by the arrow FB in FIGURE 2. Thecoupling to the mandrel 24 for fast forward drive is from theintermediate pulley 13 through the shaft 46, collar 48, clutch C3,sleeve 64a, gears 64-63, clutch C5, sleeve 20 and clutchC2 t the shaft17. This coupling path is partially indicated by the arrow FF in FIGURE2. During both of these fast in-track movements the coupling from theshaft 17 to the feed screw 27 remains the same. In the detaileddescription of these in-track drive movements which herein next follows,reference should be had also to the chart of FIGURE 5.

Normal forward in-track drive During this normal drive operation, thedrive motor DM rotates the drive pulley 11 in a forward direction(clockwise as viewed from the left end of the motor in FIGURE 1) at aspeed of 30 r.p.rn. through a speed-reduction non-reversing couplingwhich proceeding from the motor comprises a belt 12, step pulley 13,belt 14, step pulley 15 and belt 16. The pulley 11 is free to journal onthe shaft 17, and the shaft 17 is in turn journaled in bearings in sideframe members 18 and 19. Traversing the bearing of the shaft 17 in theframe 18 is a sleeve 20 coupled during forward drive of the motor DM bythe one-way spring clutch C1 to the pulley 11. The other end of thesleeve 20 is now coupled by the one-way spring clutch C2 to a collar 23pinned to the shaft 17. The oneway spring clutch C2 is of the type heldnormally engaged by a pressure roller 61 journaled on a rocker 57 itselfspring biased by a tension spring 62 as shown in FIGURE 4. Thus, theshaft 17 is driven in a forward direction in unison with the pulley 11.At its far end the shaft 17 is directly coupled to the mandrel 24. Thebelt record R is trained around this mandrel and a second mandrel 25 asshown in FIGURE 1. Three precise revolutions of the drive mandrel 24 arerequired to provide one complete revolution of the belt record. Thu-sthe belt record is driven in a forward direction at a speed of 10 rpm.

During recording and reproducing the drive motor also rotates the feedscrew 27 at a speed of 2 r.p.m. to provide five track convolutions onthe belt record for each revolution of the feed screw. The drivecoupling to the feed screw is taken from a pinion gear 28 pinned to theshaft 17. This pinion gear is coupled through a step gear 29 to a spurgear 30 journaled on the shaft 31. I The spur gear 30 has a crown gear32 connected thereto, which forms part of a planetary gear mechanism 33(FIGURES 1 and 6a). The planetary gear mechanism comprises a sec-0ndcrown gear 34 secured to the shaft 31. Intercoupling the two crown gearsare two planetary gears 35 journaled on a yoke 36, which is secured to asleeve 37 rotatable on the shaft 31. The sleeve 37 is coupled by a geartrain 38 (FIGURE 1) to a shaft 39 journaled also in the frame 18. Theshaft 39 is in turn coupled by a pulley 40 and belt 41 to the drivepulley 42 of the scan motor SM. During recording the scan motor is atstandstill to hold the yoke 36 stationary. The step-down gearing 28-30has a ratio of 15 to 1 to drive the \gear 30 at 2 r.p.m. Since theplanetary gear mechanism is now constrained against planetary movement,the two crown gears 32 and 34 are driven at the same speed but inopposite directions to cause the feed screw 27 to be driven also at 2rpm. but in a direction reversed from that of the gear 30.

A head carriage 44 is mounted slidably on a cross rod 45 for movementalong the mandrels 24 and 25. The carriage has a feed nut (not shown) inmesh with the feed screw 27. As the belt record is driven in a forwarddirection, the carriage is advanced proportionately from left to rightas it appears in FIGURE 1. Mounted on the carriage is a record-reproducehead 46 typically of a magnetic type, having pole pieces engaging amagnetic coating on one side of the belt record R to define a helicaltrack thereon. The pitch of the threads of the feed screw are typically.100" to give a track pit-ch on the belt record of .020".

Fast backward in-track drive (backspace) The belt record and feed screwcan be driven at an accelerated rate to drive the head carriage 44backward at a fast speed with the head moving in-track. During thisbackspacing the drive motor is reversed. Because of the reverse movementof the drive motor the one-way clutch C1 is disengaged to remove thedrive connection from the pulley 11 to the sleeve 20'. However, theshaft 46 journaled in the side standards 47 and 47' and to which theintermediate step pulley 13 is pinned has the collar 48 secured to itsouter end portion coupled to the adjacent pinion gear 49 on the sameshaft by the one-way spring clutch C3 now held engaged because of thereverse drive of the motor DM. The pinion gear 49 meshes with onesection of the intermediate double gear 56-51 journaled on a stud 52carried by the standard 19. The other setcion of the double gear 5051meshes with a gear 53 journaled on the shaft 17 to turn this gear in areverse direction relative to the forward direction of the shaft 17. Thegear 53 has a hub extension adjacent to the collar 55 pinned to theshaft 17. Between the hub extension and collar 55 there is the one-wayspring clutch C4. When a backspacing solenoid 58 is energized it movesforwardly a link 58a (FIGURE 1) to turn the rocker 57 against the forceof the tension spring 62 in a counterclockwise direction (FIGURE 4)firstly to withdraw the presure roller 61 from the clutch C2 andsecondly to press a roller 56 on a second arm of the rocker 57 againstthe spring clutch C4 to couple the gear 53 to the shaft 17. The beltrecord R is therefore now driven in a reverse direction. The couplingfrom the shaft 17 via the gears 2830 and the differential gear mechanism33 to the feed screw 27 is retained to cause the head carriage 44 to bealso driven in a backward direction in accordance with the fast backwardrotation of the belt record. Thus, the record reproduce head 46 nowdefines a backward in-track movement at a fast speed.

Securedto an end portion of the stud 52 is a collar 59. Between thiscollar and the gear 50 there is a one- Way spring clutch C6. During thefast backward movement just described the gear 50 is turned in adirection causing the spring clutch C6 to be disengaged. However, duringnormal forward advance of the drive system hereinbefore described thespring clutch C6 acts as a one-way brake to secure the intermediate gear50 to the stationary collar 59 and to prevent then any possible rotationof the gear 53.

Fast forward ill-track drive During fast forward in-track drive of therecord medium and head carriage, the drive motor DM is again operated ina reverse direction causing the clutch C1 to be again disengaged and theclutch C3 to be engaged; however, the backspace solenoid 58 is nowdropped out to engage the clutch C2, to couple the sleeve 20 to theshaft 17, and to disengage the clutch C4. Although the gear 49 againdrives the gear 50-51 which in turn drives the gear 53, this is withouteffect because the clutch C4 is disengaged. Journaled on the sleeve 20is a gear 63 which is in direct mesh with a pinion gear 64 connected bya sleeve 64a to the gear 49. There being no intermediate gear betweenthe gear 64 on the shaft 46 and the gear 63 on the shaft 17, as there isbetween the gear 49 on the shaft 46 and the gear 53 on the shaft 17, thegear 63 is driven in a direction reverse to that of the gear 53. Betweenthe gear 63 and the sleeve 20 is a one-way spring clutch C5 which isengaged when the gear 63 is driven clockwise. Since the clutch C2 is nowengaged, as just explained, the shaft 17 is now driven in a forwarddirection at an increased speed direct from the shaft 45 via the clutchC3, gear 64-, gear 63, clutch C5, sleeve 20, clutch C2 and collar 23.Again there is maintained the same coupling between the shaft 17 and thefeed screw 27 to cause the head carriage to be advanced at a fast speedin proportion to the increased speeed of the belt record with the headagain moving in-track.

Back and forward scan In describing the back and forward scan movementsof the drive system reference should again be had to the chart of FIGURE5. These scan movements are produced by driving the head carriage at anaccelerated speed while the drive motor DM and the belt record are atstandstill causing thus the magnetic head 46 to be moved cross-track.When the scan motor is driven in a forward directiona directioncounterclockwise as viewed from the pulley 42it drives the pulley 40 viathe belt 41 in the same direction, which in turn drives the sleeve 37likewise in a counterclockwise direction through the gear train 38.Since the drive motor DM is now at standstill, the crown gear 32 is heldstationary. Rotation of the sleeve 37 planetates the gears 35 to drivethe feed screw in the same direction. Thus, the feed screw is driven ina direction to advance the head carriage. The speed ratio from thepulley 40 to the sleeve 37 is 2 /2:1 step-down and from the sleeve 37through the differential gear mechanism 33 to the feed screw 27 is 2:1step-down giving a total step-down ratio of 5:1 from the pulley 41 tothe feed screw. A /5 turn of the feed screw advances the head carriageby exactly one track pitch distance. It follows therefore that each turnof the pulley 41? produces a movement of the head 4-6 from one track tothe next. This is important in stopping the head in-track, or incentralizing the head as it is otherwise herein described, after eachscan movement, as will appear.

The coupling from the scan motor SM to the pulley 40 is about 3:1step-down giving a total step-down from the scan motor to the feed screw27 of about 15:1. The scan motor turns at 3000 rpm. to drive the feedscrew during scanning at about 200 r.p.m. Since each revolution of thefeed screw produces .100" advance of the head carriage, the latter isdriven during cross-track scanning at a speed of about /3 per second.

In the first embodiment of the drive system abovedescribe-d, the use ofa low inertia DC. motor DM having :a quick-start capability in eitherdirection permits the selection between normal forward drive and fastdrive in either direction to be made automatically through over-runningclutches according to the direction of drive of the motor. The termover-running as here employed is used to mean a clutch which isautomatically operative in one direction of the power source andinoperative in the other direction. The over-running clutches which areoperative automatically when the motor is reversed are the clutches C3,C5 and C6. When the motor is running in the reversed direction the selection between fast forward and backspace is made according to whether theclutch C2 or C4 is engaged.

In the second embodiment of drive system herein next described there isused an A.C. motor 166. Since such a motor does not have the capabilityof starting quickly in either direction, the over-running clutches C3and C6 of the first embodiment are replaced by the solenoida-ctuatedband clutches CM and C641, and the selection between normal forwarddrive and a fast drive in either direction is determined by whetheranother solenoidcontrolled band clutch C7 or the clutch C311 is engaged.Preferably, the clutch C7 is of the single-revolution type wherein theclutch spring grips the hubs tightly the instant an interposer isremoved from an arresting tang of the clutch spring, as is laterdescribed.

The A.C. drive motor 166 has a drive pulley 167 coupled by a belt 168 toa pulley 169 to rotate the pulley in a clockwise direction as seen fromthe left end thereof as it appears in FIGURE 6a. The pulley 169 ispressfitted'onto a hub 170 journaled on a shaft 171 (FIG- URE 6b). Theshaft 171 is journaled near its left end in a flanged bearing 172supported in a frame plate 173 and at its right end in a bearing 174supported in a frame plate 175. The drive shaft 17 and the pulleys andgears mounted thereon are the same as in the first embodimentabove-described. However, the different selective drive transmissionfrom the motor to the shaft 17 is required for the reasonsabove-mentioned.

During normal forward drive the pulley 169 is coupled through the clutchC7 and shaft 171 to an end pulley 176. As will appear, the end pulley176 and the intermediate pulley 169 correspond when in a coupled relationship to the stepped pulley 13 of the first embodiment in that theend pulley 176 is coupled by the belt 14, intermediate step pulley 15and belt 16 to the drive pulley 11 on the shaft 17 in the same manner asin the first embodiment. The clutch C7 comprises a coil spring 177having one end secured to a collar 178 held by a set screw 179 to theshaft 171, and having the other end portion enveloping a sleeveextension 170a of the hub 170 and terminating in a radial tang 177a. Thetang is controlled by an anmature 178a of a slow-forward solenoid 178b(FIGURE 7). When the solenoid is not energized the armature blocks thetang and causes the frictional contact of the sleeve extension 1700 withthe spring 177 to expand the spring and uncouple the pulley 169 from theshaft 171. However, the instant the solenoid 17% is energized to removeits armature or interposer from the tang 177a the spring 177 is freed togrip the hub 1711a in response to its natural resilience and the driveresistance of the shaft 171 whereby to connect the pulley 169 instantlyto the shaft 171. The pulley 11 is then driven from the pulley 176through the train 14-16 as above-motioned. In the normal forward drivethe over-runnirng clutch C1 is engaged automatically and the backspacesolenoid 58 is not energized to cause the clutch C2 to be engagedwhereby to complete the drive coupling to the shaft 17. The drive roller24 for the belt record R is then rotated in a slow forward direction andconcurrently the feed screw 27 is driven from the shaft 17 through thegear train 28-30, the differential gear mechanism 33, shaft 31 andreversing gears 18% and 189 to feed the head carriage 44 across therecord R.

In order to obtain either a fast forward or backspace drive the slowforward solenoid 178 is deenergized to disengage the clutch C7 and theclutch C3a is engaged to couple the pulley 169 to a pinion 179. The hub170 of the pulley 169 has a rightward sleeve extension on the shaft 171provided with a reduced-diameter end portion 17% onto which is journaleda leftward sleeve extension 179a of the pinion 179. Similarly, thepinion 179 has a rightward sleeve extension provided with a reduceddiameter end portion 17% which is journaled internally on a sleeveextension 174a of the bearing 174 but out of contact with the shaft 171.Surrounding the hub 170 and the sleeve extension 179a of the pinion 179is a wire spring band 180 of the clutch C311 and surrounding the hub ofthe pinion 179 and the sleeve 174a of the bearing 174 is another wirespring band 181 of the clutch 06a. The wire spring bands 180 and 181 aresecured respec tively to the pulley 169 and pinion 179 and arecontrolled at their outer end portions by respective pressure members182 and 183. The two pressure members are intercoupled and controlled byan in-track solenoid 184 (FIG- URE 7). When the in-track solenoid 184 isnot energized the pressure member 183 bears against the wire band 181 toengage the clutch 06a whereby to grip the bearing sleeve 174a to thepinion 179 and hold'the pinion at standstill. This is a condition whichexists when the clutch C7 is engaged for normal forward drive. On theother hand, when the in-track solenoid 184 is energized, the pressuremember 183 is disengaged to free the pinion 179 from the bearing 174,and the pressure member 182 is engaged to cause the band spring 180 togrip the sleeve extension 179a and couple the pinion 179 to the pulley169. It is to reduce cyclic friction due to the radial reaction forceswhich arise when the clutch bands cross in a coupled relationship fromone hub to the other that the pinion 179 is separately journaled on thehub of the pulley 169 and the bearing 174 in and out-of-contactrelationship with the internal shaft 171. The in-track solenoid 184 isenergized for both fast forward and backspace operations while the A.-C.motor 166 continues to run in a forward direction, as is herein nextdescribed.

Meshing with the pinion 179 is a gear 185 secured to a shaft 186.Meshing also with the pinion 179 is the gear 53 on the shaft 17. Thegears 185 and 53 are therefore driven in reverse, counterclockwisedirections when the in-track solenoid 184 is energized. The shaft 186 isjournaled at its ends in the frame plates 173 and 175. Secured also tothis shaft is a gear 187 that meshes with the gear 63 journaled on thesleeve 20. The gear 63 is therefore driven in a forward, clockwisedirection. The clutch C between the hub of the gear 63 and the sleeve 20is an over-running type which is engaged automatically during the fastforward drive of the gear. When the backspace solenoid 58 is notenergized the clutch C2 is engaged by the pressure roller 61 underinfluence of the :bias spring 62 to complete the drive coupling for fastforward in-track drive through sleeve 20, collar 23 and shaft 17. On theother hand, when the backspace solenoid 58 is energized, the clutch C2is disengaged to uncouple the gear 63 from the shaft 17, and the clutchC4 is engaged by the pressure roller 56 to couple the reversely drivengear 53 through the. collar 55 to the shaft 17 whereby to effect abackspace or fast rearward in-track drive. The chart in FIGURE 8 showsthe different clutch conditions to obtain the different modes of driveoperation in the second embodiment of drive system according to myinvention.

During normal forward drive as well as during fastforward drive andbackspace, the scan motor SM is at standstill and the scan pulley 40 isheld latched by a single-tooth latch 66-68 as is described in the parentapplication. When a manual scan switch for the motor SM is released tooff position, power to the motor is maintained until the latch 66-68 isengaged, causing the scan pulley 40 to be stopped always in the sameposition. Since each scan operation is started as the latch 66-68 isdisengaged and is stopped as this latch is reengaged, and eachrevolution of the pulley 40 corresponds to a single track pitch distanceon the record medium, it follows that the head 46 is always stopped inan in-track position at the end of each scan operation.

An advance marker 74 described in detail in the parent application isdriven from the shaft 31 through the set of reversing gears 188 and 189and thence via a pulley 190, belt 191, pulley 192, shaft 193, gear 194and the gear 82 on the shaft 83 of the marker. The gear 82 is staked toa sleeve '84 on the shaft 83. The sleeve 84 has a collar 85 at its farend forming the body of a oneway clutch MC for coupling the sleeve to asurrounding cylinder 87 of the marker. The cylinder 87 is provided witha central hub 88 journaled on the shaft 83. The collar 85 is providedwith a peripheral flat 86. Between this flat and the cylinder 87 is aloosely mounted roller 89 held wedged between one end of the flat andthe cylinder by a torsion spring 90. The torsion spring is disposed in aperipheral slot 85a in the clutch collar 85 in such manner that one endis connected to the collar and the other end bears slidably against theroller 89 within a peripheral slot therein. Under influence of thetorsion spring the clutch MC is held normally engaged to drive thecylinder 87 in a clockwise direction as seen from the right end of themarker in FIGURE 6a.

Pivotally and slidably mounted on the sleeve 84 is a trip member 91coacting with cone-shaped cam studs 93 mounted on the clutch collar tocause the trip member to be turned slightly in relation to the collarwhen it is pressed theretowards. On the trip member is a pin 95 whichdisengages the clutch collar 89 from its wedging relationship with thecylinder 87 as the trip member is so turned relative to the collar. Uponthe clutch being so disengaged when the marker is in an operatedposition, the cylinder 87 is propelled counterclockwise to home positionby a clock spring 96 within the left end portion of the cylinder 87.This clock spring has its outer end connected to the cylinder 87 (andits inner end connected to the shaft 83.

Projecting out at the left end of the cylinder 87 from the hub 88 inparallel relation to the shaft 83 is an arm 98. This arm extendsslidably through a slotted portion of a measuring member 100 which isthreaded on the left hand portion of the shaft 83. The clock spring 96normally holds the measuring member in home position defined by abutmentof an arm 102 of the measuring member against an arm 103 of an advanceclutch switch 104. In response to the force of the clock spring theadvance clutch switch 104 is normally held in an operated position. Inthis home position of the measuring member the same is nearest thecylinder 87. The advance clutch switch has a first set of contacts 104awhich are held normally closed (FIGURE 9) and a second set of contacts10411 (referred to as the early advance clutch switch) which are heldnormally open by the arm 102 under influence of the clock spring 96. Thefirst contacts 104a are opened the instant the head carriage isbackspaced from a position of farthest advance. When the carriage hasbeen backspaced through the distance of about one track pitch on therecord the second contacts 1041) are closed. As the advance clutch isreturned from a backspaced position this order of operation of the twosets of contacts is reversed.

The stationary one of the two contacts 104a is backed by :a relativelystiff stop arm 104s. Some resilience in this stop arm is needed so thatit will yield to the impact force of the arm 102 and reduce strain onthe marker mechanism when the arm reaches the end of run down followingrelease of the marker clutch MC while the marker is in an actuatedposition. Although the stop arm 104s yields only slightly to the staticforce of the clock spring 96 when the arm is resting in home position,such slight deflection as occurs will represent typically about .001 ofbackspace movement of the carriage. This slight static deflection of thestop arm causes the switch 104a to shift the machine back to recordingslightly before the prior position of farthest advance is reached withthe result that a slight clipping of 1a syllable of the last priorrecording can occur. Also, backlash in the coupling mechanism from theshaft 31 to the shaft 83 may increase the extent of this clippingaction.

A feature of the invention is to provide a selective drag force on theshaft 83 which is operative only when the carriage is being returnedfrom a backspaced position to its prior position of farthest advance.The purpose of this drag force is to compensate for the spring-back ofthe stop 104s and for backalsh in the coupling mechanism. This drag isadjusted so that when the carriage is backspaced and then returned toits prior position of advance the machine will not be shifted back intorecording condition until the carriage has passed the prior position offarthest advance by about one-quarter second time interval. Thisselective drag is obtained by the binding action of a flexible cordwrapped once around a pulley 196 secured to one side of the gear 82. Thecord is secured at one end through a tension spring 197 to the eye of anadjustable screw 198, secured to a bracket 199 by a pair of nuts 200 ofwhich one is locked tight against the other. The other end of the cordis led around a small guide roller 201 and attached to a lever 202itself pivotally connected at 203 to the armature 204a of a clutch dragsolenoid 204. The control of the clutch drag solenoid 204 will beapparent from the description of the operation of the machine withrespect to the schematic drawing of FIGURE 7, which herein next follows.

The machine is connected to a 115 volt, 60 cycle, power source indicatedby the reference number 205. From this power source connection is madethrough an on-off switch 206 to the A.C. drive motor 166. The coils ofthis motor are herein utilized as a power transformer through whichconnection is made to a rectifier 207 and thence through a regulator 208to a pair of plus and minus terminals designated 209. When the machineis to be used for recording dictation, a dictate-transscribe switch DTis thrown to its dictate position wherein its two pole members 1 and 2are in their upper positions as shown. This completes a power circuitfrom the minus terminal through switch 119 upper contact, playback endswitch PE, pole 2 and upper contact of scan relay 73, pole 1 and uppercontact of dictate-transcribe switch DT, advance clutch switch 104a, andcoil of RR relay 111 back to the plus terminal 209. The RR relay 111 isthus held operatezd causing its pole members 1 and 2 to he retained intheir downmost positions. To start the machine the operator closes theswitch 106 with its upper contact. This establishes a circuit from theminus terminal 209 through the record end switch RE, pole 1 and uppercontact of the scan relay 73, pole 2 and lower contact of the RR relay111, switch 184a of the in-track solenoid 184, slow forward solenoid17812 and back to plus terminal 209. The resultant energization of theslow forward solenoid 178b engages the clutch C7 and starts the machinerunning in the forward direction at normal speed. The dictator can nowspeak into the microphone (not shown) to activate the head 46 and recordon the record R in the normal way.

If the dictator or a secretary should want to backspace in-track for anydistance to use the machine only for playback they would first throw thedictate transcribe switch DT to the lower transcribe position to dropback the RR relay 111 to playback position. Upon next pressing thebackspace switch 158 into closed position a circuit is completed fromthe minus terminal 209 through the switch 158 and the backspace solenoid58 to plus terminal. Operation of the backspace solenoid 58 engages theclutch C4. At the same time, another circuit is completed from the minusterminal 209 through the backspace switch 158, diode D, and in-tracksolenoid 184 to plus terminal 209. Operation of the in-track solenoid184 engages the clutch CM and disengages the brake clutch GM to completethe drive connection from the motor 166 for a fast drive intrackoperation in the reverse direction. Also, operation of the in-tracksolenoid 184 opens the switch 184a to disable the slow forward solenoid178 to prevent accidental engagement of the clutch C7 during thebackspace operation. During such secretarial backspace the pole 2 of thedictate-transcribe switch DT is closed with its lower contact to shortout the early advance clutch switch 10%.

At the end of the backspace operation the opeartor releases thebackspace switch 158 and closes the start switch 106 to cause themachine to run forward at the normal sped as above-described. The RRrelay 111 is maintained in playback position because of the dictatetranscribe switch DT being in transcribe position with the result thatthe machine will now play back the recorded dictation.

If the dictator wants to listen back to some prior portion of hisrecorded dictation and then resume his further recording of dictation,he will leave the dictate transcribe switch DT in dictate position andpress the backscan switch 117 to closed position. A circuit is thencompleted from the minus terminal 209 through the backscan switch 117,backscan limit switch BS, diode D2, and coil of scan relay 73 to plusterminal 209. Also, a circuit is completed from the minus terminal 209through the backscan switch 117, the backscan limit switch BS, diode D3,and reverse relay 112 to plus terminal 209. This completes a con nectionfrom the minus terminal 209 through run switch 119, playback end switchPE, pole 2 lower contact of scan relay 73, and pole 1 lower contact ofreverse relay 112 to bottom contact of the scan motor SM. Since thereverse relay 112 is now operated the upper contact of the scan motor SMis connected through pole 2 lower contact of the relay 112 direct to theplus terminal 209. The scan motor is therefore driven in a reversedirection to move the head carriage rearwardly in a cross-trackrelationship to the stationary record R. In the initial backscanmovement the advance clutch switch 104a is opened and upon a rearwardmovement of the head carriage through a one track pitch interval on therecord the early advance clutch switch 104!) is closed. The opening ofthe switch 104a drops the RR relay 111 to return the machine to playbackcondition. The closing of the early advance clutch switch 10412 has noimmediate effect.

Upon release of the backscan switch 117 the scan relay 73 is dropped toreturn the drive system to normal forward drive and the advance clutchswitch 104a remains open leaving the machine still in playback conditionto play back the recorded dictation. The circuit for the drive systemnow runs from minus terminal 209 through run switch 119, playback endswitch PE, pole 2 upper contact of scan relay 73, pole 1 upper contactof RR relay 111, diode D5, switch 184a of in-track solenoid 184, coil ofslow forward solenoid 178 and back to plus terminal 209. The machinewill thus continue in normal playback of the recorded dictation eitheruntil the prior position of farthest advance is reached or until thedictator presses the start switch 106 to place the machine into aforward scan condition.

When the machine is playing back the prior dictation recorded on therecord R the drag solenoid 204 is energized from minus terminal 209through run switch 119, playback end switch PE, pole 2 upper contact ofscan relay 73, pole 1 upper contact of RR relay 111 and coil of dragsolenoid 204 to plus terminal 209. A drag is therefore now being appliedto the advance clutch gear 82 to retard it slightly as before-described.

If the dictator presses the start switch 106 while the head carriage isin a backspaced position a circuit is completed from the minus terminal209 through start switch 106, record end switch RE, early advance clutchswitch 104b, and scan relay 73 to plus terminal 209. As a result ofoperating the scan relay 73, a circuit is completed from the minusterminal 209 through the run switch 119, playback end switch PE, pole 2lower contact of scan relay 73, and pole 2 upper contact of reverserelay 112 to upper contact of scan motor SM. At the same time the lowerside of the scan motor is connected through pole 1 upper contact of thereverse relay 112 to the plus terminal 209. The scan motor thereforeruns in its normal forward direction. During this time the record R isat standstill and the machine remains in playback condition because theadvance clutch switch 104a is still open. Also the drag solenoid 204continues to be energized during this forward scan by a connection fromthe upper terminal of the scan motor SM through diode D6 to the dragsolenoid.

When the carriage is returned from its background position to within onetrack pitch distance from its prior position of farthest advance theearly advance clutch switch 10 1b is opened. This drops the scan relay73 and returns the machine to fast forward in-track drive by the circuitrunning from minus terminal 209 through st-art switch 106, record endswitch RE, pole 1 upper contact of scan relay 73, pole 2 upper contactof RR relay 111, and in-track solenoid 184 to plus terminal 209. Theenergization of the in-track solenoid 184 opens switch 184a to preventslow forward relay 178 from being operated and it engages the clutch C3ato complete the fast forward in-track drive. Also, the drag solenoid 204continues to be operated during this fast forward in-track drive by acircuit running from minus terminal 209 via run switch 119, playback endswitch PE, pole 2 upper contact of scan relay 73, pole 1 upper contactof RR relay 111 and drag solenoid 204 to plus terminal 209.

When the head carriage reaches its prior position of farthest advancethe advance clutch switch 104a is closed. This completes a circuit fromthe minus terminal 209 through the run switch 119, playback end switchPE, pole 2 upper contact of scan relay 7 3, pole 1 upper contact ofdictate transcribe switch DT, advance clutch switch 104a, RR relay 111,and back to plus terminal 209. This operates the RR relay to put themachine back into record condition. The operation of the RR relay opensthe circuit to the in-track solenoid 184 at its pole 2 upper contact tostop the fast forward drive and activates the slow forward solenoid 178at its pole 2 lower contact to put the drive back into normal forwarddrive. The machine is now ready to resume recording whenever the startswitch 106 is closed.

If when the head carriage is in a backspaced position, the dictatorwants to re-record all of the recorded dictation in advance of the headcarriage he presses the run switch 119 downwardly momentarily to editposition and then presses the start switch 106 to continue hisdictation. The efiect of so pressing the run switch to edi position isto activate an edit solenoid from plus terminal 209 via switch 119second pole lower contact to minus terminal of rectifier 207. Theoperation of the edit solenoid disengages the advance clutch MC to causeit to run down to home position responsive to the clock spring 96. Theresultant closing of the advance clutch switch 104a activates the RRrelay 111 to record position and prepares the circuit through startswitch 106 to activate the slow forward solenoid 178 via pole 1 uppercontact of RR relay 111 and switch 184a so that the machine will operatein normal record condition when the start switch 106 is next closed.

The embodiments of my invention herein particularly shown and describedare intended as being illustrative and not necessarily limitative of myinvention since the same are subject to changes and modificationswithout departure from the scope of my invention which I endeavor to setforth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A drive mechanism for a phonographic machine adapted for recordingand reproducing dictation comprising a rotatable record supportingdevice, a shaft coupled to said record supporting device and adapted tobe driven selectively at normal and at above-normal speeds, a drivemotor, a drive wheel journaled on said shaft, a sleeve journaled on saidshaft, a first drive gear journaled on said sleeve, means for rotatingsaid drive wheel by said motor in a forward direction at a normal speed,selectively operable means for causing said first gear to be driven bysaid motor in a forward direction at above-normal speed, a first one-wayclutch for coupling said drive wheel to said sleeve, a second one-wayclutch for coupling said first gear to said sleeve, and a third one-wayclutch for coupling said sleeve to said shaft whereby when said firstand third clutches are engaged said shaft is driven forwardly at normalspeed and when said second and third clutches .are engaged said shaft isdriven in a forward direction at above-normal speed.

2. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 1 including a second drivegear journaled on said shaft, means controlled by said selectivelyoperable means for driving said second gear in a reverse direction atabove-normal speed concurrently as said first gear is driven, a fourthone-way clutch for coupling said second drive gear to said shaft, and aunitary clutch control means for said third and fourth clutches operablein one direction to disengage said fourth clutch and concurrently engagesaid third clutch and operable in a reverse direction to dis- 12 engagesaid third clutch and concurrently engage said fourth clutch whereby todrive said shaft in a reverse direction at above-normal speed upon saidselectively operable means being in operated condition.

3. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 2 including a first driveclutch between said motor and said drive Wheel, a second drive clutchbetween said motor and said first and second drive gears, clutch controlmeans selectively operable to engage said first drive clutch anddisengage said second drive clutch whereby to rotate said shaft in aforward direction at normal speed, said unitary clutch control meansbeing operable in a reverse direction to disengage said first driveclutch and engage said second drive clutch whereby to enable said shaftto be rotated selectively in either forward or reverse directions atabove-normal speed under control of said first-mentioned unitary clutchcontrol means.

4. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 3 wherein said first andsecond drive clutches are of a wire spring type, including solenoidmeans for controlling said drive clutches.

5. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 2 including a reversible drivemotor operable in a forward direction to rotate said drive wheelforwardly at a normal speed, and a drive transmission including a fifthone-way clutch between said drive motor and said first and second drivegears operable when the motor is rotated in a reverse direction forrotating said gears respectively in forward and reverse directions atabove-normal speed.

6. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 5 including a brake clutchoperative automatically when said drive motor is rotated in a forwarddirection for holding said drive gears against rotation.

7. A drive mechanism for a phonographic machine adapted for recordingand reproducing dictation comprising a rotatable record supportingdevice, a shaft coupled to said record supporting device and adapted tobe driven in either direction selectively at normal and at above-normalspeeds, a one-Way drive motor, a drive wheel journaled on said shaft,first and second drive gears journaled on said shaft, a first driveclutch for coupling said motor to said drive wheel, a second driveclutch for coupling said motor to said first and second drive gears torotate the gears at above-normal speed respectively in forward andreverse directions, means for coupling said drive Wheel and said firstand second gears selectively to said shaft, said first and second driveclutches being solenoid-controlled and being of a Wire spring band type,and said first drive clutch being further torsionally biased into anengaged condition and having a radial tang at one end of the coil springand a respective solenoid for controlling said first drive clutch havingan armature which when the solenoid is deenergized blocks said tank tocause the coil spring to be retained frictionally in an open conditionby the rotating motor-driven shaft.

8. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 7 wherein the drive couplingbetween said motor and said drive gears comprises a pulley coupled tosaid motor, a drive pinion coupled to said pulley via said second driveclutch, said pinion being in direct mesh with said second drive gear,intermediate gearing coupling said pinion to said first drive gear, abrake clutch for said pinion, and an interco-upling between said seconddrive clutch and said brake clutch causing the brake clutch to beengaged when said second drive clutch is disengaged and causing thebrake clutch to be disengaged when said second drive clutch is engaged.

9. The drive mechanism set forth in claim 8 wherein said drive pulleyand said pinion are mounted for rotation on a common shaft, including abearing for said shaft, said pinion being rotatably mounted at one endon a hub of said pulley and at the other end on said bearing inout-of-contact relationship with said shaft, and wherein said seconddrive clutch traverses the hub of said pulley and the hub of said pinionand wherein said brake 13 clutch traverses the hub of said pinion and asleeve extension on said bearing.

10. A drive mechanism for a phonographic machine adapted for recordingand reproducing dictation comprising a rotatable record supportingdevice, a shaft coupled to said record supporting device and adapted tobe driven in either direction selectively at normal and above-normalspeeds, a reversible drive motor, a drive wheel journaled on said shaft,a step-down transmission between said motor and drive wheel including anintermediate wheel driven at an intermediate speed, a sleeve journaledon said shaft, a first one-way clutch between said drive wheel andsleeve operative during forward driven movement of said motor, a secondone-way clutch between said sleeve and said shaft, clutch control meansfor engaging said second clutch during forward drive of said motor toadvance said record support at normal speed, a reversing drivetransmission between said intermediate wheel and said sleeve for drivingsaid shaft forward at above-normal speed when said drive motor isreversed and said second clutch is engaged, and a non-reversing drivetransmission between said intermediate wheel and said shaft including athird one-way clutch controlled by said clutch control means causing thethird clutch to be engaged when said second clutch is disengaged fordriving said shaft in a reverse direction at abovenormal speed duringreverse drive of said motor.

11. A drive mechanism for a phonographic machine adapted for recordingand reproducing dictation comprising a rotatable record supportingdevice, a shaft coupled to said record supporting device and adapted tobe driven in either direction selectively at normal and above-normalspeeds, a reversible drive motor, a drive wheel journaled on said shaft,a step-down transmission between said motor and drive wheel including anintermediate wheel driven at an intermediate speed, a sleeve journaledon said shaft, a first one-way clutch between said drive wheel andsleeve operative only during forward driven movement of said motor, asecond one-way clutch between said sleeve and said shaft, clutch control.means for engaging said second clutch during forward drive of saidmotor to advance said record support at normal speed, a reversing drivetransmission between said intermediate wheel and said sleeve includingthird and fifth one-way clutches operative only during reverse drive ofsaid motor for driving said shaft in a forward direction at anabove-normal speed when said second clutch is engaged and said motor isreversed, and a non-reversing drive transmission between saidintermediate wheel and said shaft including said third one-way clutchand a fourth one-way clutch controlled by said clutch control means tocause said fourth clutch to be engaged when said second one-way clutchis disengaged for reversely driving said shaft at above-normal speedduring a reverse drive of said motor.

12. In a phonographic machine including a rotatable record-supportingdevice and a record cooperable translating device, one of said devicesbeing mounted for advance and backspace traveling movement relative tothe other: the combination of a device for measuring the backspacemovement of said one device from a position of farthest advanceincluding a control switch having a yieldably mounted back contact, amovable control member for said switch biased to normally hold saidswitch operated against said back contact and a transmission includingan advance clutch engageable to couple said control member to said onedevice to cause the control switch to be moved to an unoperated positionin the initial backspace movement of said one device and to be returnedto operated poistion as said one device is returned after a backspacingthereof to its prior position of farthest advance, means for backspacingsaid one device and shifting the machine into playback condition, meansunder control of said measuring device for automatically shifting themachine into record condition when said one device after a backspacingthereof is returned to its prior position of farthest advance, and meansoperative only when said one device is being returned from a backspacedposition to its prior position of farthest advance for placing a dragresistance on said movable control member whereby to delay the shiftingof said machine back to recording condition until said one device ismoved slightly past its prior position of farthest advance.

13. The phonographic machine set forth in claim 12 including adictate-transcribe control device placeable in a dictate position torender said measuring device operative and in a transcribe position torender said measuring device inoperative, and means rendered operativewhen said dictate-transcribe control device is in dictate position andsaid machine is in playback condition for placing said drag resstance onthe movable control member of said measuring device.

14. The phonographic machine set forth in claim 12 including means foradvancing said one device from a backspaced position while said recordsupporting device is stopped against rotation, including means forcausing said drag resistance to be placed on said movable control memberof said measuring device while said one device is being so advanced.

15. The phonographic machine set forth in claim 12 including meansoperative while said one device is in a backspaced position for rotatingsaid record supporting device in a forward direction at above-normalspeed and concurrently advancing said one device at a correspondingspeed to produce an in-track fast-forward advance of said translatingdevice, including means to cause said drag resistance to be placed onsaid movable control member of said measuring device during saidfast-forward in-track movement of the translating device.

16. A phonographic machine including a rotatable record supportingdevice and a translating device mounted for traveling movement, drivemeans for rotating said supporting device and concurrently moving thetranslating device to produce an in-track engagement of the translatingdevice with a record medium on said supporting device, means forbackspacing said translating device and shifting the machine from arecord toreproduce condition to enable playback of portions ofpreviously recorded dictation, a device for measuring the backspacemovement of said translating device from a position of farthest advance,means controlled by said measuring device for shifting the machineautomatically to record condition when the translating device isreturned to its prior position of farthest advance, and means forplacing a friction load on said measuring device during its return to aposition of farthest advance whereby to retard the measuring device andcause the machine to be shifted to record condition when the translatingdevice has been advanced slightly past its prior position of farthestadvance.

17. In a phonographic machine including a rotatable record supportingdevice and a record cooperable translating device mounted for travelingmovement relative to the supporting device: the combination of a drivemechanism for rotating said supporting device and concurrently advancingsaid translating device to produce an in-track movement of thetranslating device on a record medium carried by said supporting device,selective control means for said drive mechanism to produce a backspacemovement of said translating device from a position of farthest advancewhereby to enable portions of recorded dictation to be played back, ameasuring device having a home position, intercoupling means betweensaid translating device and said supporting device effective during abackspace movement of said translating device for measuring thebackspaced movement of the translating device from a position offarthest advance, and selectively operable means for placing a frictionload on said measnring device only during the return movement of thetranslating device to its prior position of farthest advance whereby tocompensate for backlash in said intercoupling means and cause thetranslating device to be returned at 15 least to its prior position offarthest advance when the measuring device reaches home position.

18. The phonographic machine set forth in claim 17 including means forshifting said phonographic machine from record to reproduce conditionwhen said translating device is backspaced from a position of farthestadvance, means controlled by said measuring device and operative at theend of return movement of said translating device from a backspacedposition for shifting the machine back to record condition, and meansfor render- 10 said translating device has been advanced slightly pastits prior position of farthest advance.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,961,243 11/1960Schueler 274 41 3,021,143 2/1962 Whitney 274 22 X 3,197,213 7/1965Taylor 274-22 3,222,074 12/1965 Walker 274-11 NORTON A'NSHER, PrimaryExaminer.

C. B. PRICE, Assistant Examiner.

1. A DRIVE MECHANISM FOR A PHONOGRAPHIC MACHINE ADAPTED FOR RECORDINGAND REPRODUCING DICTATION COMPRISING A ROTATABLE RECORD SUPPORTINGDEVICE A SHAFT COUPLED TO SAID RECORD SUPPORTING DEVICE AND ADAPTED TOBE DRIVEN SELECTIVELY AT NORMAL AND AT ABOVE-NORMAL SPEEDS, A DRIVEMOTOR, A DRIVE WHEEL JOURNALED ON SAID SHAFT, A SLEEVE JOURNALED ON SAIDSHAFT, A FIRST DRIVE GEAR JOURNALED ON SAID SLEEVE, MEANS FOR ROTATINGSAID DRIVE WHEEL BY SAID MOTOR IN A FORWARD DIRECTION AT A NORMAL SPEED,SELECTIVELY OPERABLE MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID FIRST GEAR TO BE DRIVEN BYSAID MOTOR IN A FORWARD DIRECTION AT ABOVE-NORMAL SPEED, A FIRST ONE-WAYCLUTCH FOR COUPLING SAID DRIVE WHEEL TO SAID SLEEVE, A SECOND ONE-WAYCLUTCH FOR COUPLING SAID FIRST GEAR TO SAID SLEEVE, AND A THIRD ONE-WAYCLUTCH FOR COUPLING SAID SLEEVE TO SAID SHAFT WHEREBY WHEN SAID FIRSTAND THIRD CLUTCHES ARE ENGAGED SAID SHAFT IS DRIVEN FOR WARDLY AT NORMALSPEED AND WHEN SAID SECOND AND THIRD CLUTCHES ARE ENGAGED SAID SHAFT ISDRIVEN IN A FORWARD DIRECTION AT ABOVE-NORMAL SPEED.